


Anata o Mitsukemasu (I'll Find You)

by Petri808



Series: Fairytail Short Story One Shots [25]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Dark mages, END book, F/M, Fights, Friendship, Loss of Memory, Lost and Found, Magic-Users, Mates, Sacrifice, True Love, spell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-09-29
Packaged: 2018-11-30 07:19:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11458740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Petri808/pseuds/Petri808
Summary: After their battle with Zeref and Acnologia, Natsu's END side take full control over him and he runs away.  Lucy is distraught but vows to find her love and bring him back, and she'll do anything to save him, even if it could cost her life...





	1. Anata o Mitsukemasu (I'll Find You)

**Author's Note:**

> A second part has been added by request. I hope you like it :)

She clutched the worn letter in her hand as she stared out the trains window, her first clue.  It had been a year since she last saw her best friend; he didn’t even take his scarf with him…  “Baka…” she mutters under her breath.  ‘ _You should have talked to me first!  Because without you, death might be preferable…’_  

Every chance she has she spends it searching for him.  With no specific direction or location all she can do is follow any clues she can find which often takes the form of dark guild destructions.  Someone or something is annihilating these evil bastions and while no one has gotten a good look, the way the survivors describe what happened or the glimpses of the creature, she just feels, it is him.  _‘He only targets evil…  I know there is still hope for him!’_

Back in her apartment, she stares at the book on her desk, ‘E.N.D’, _‘If I can just figure out a way to help him…’_

 

Two years have gone by with no luck, she always arrives too little, too late, damage already done, no trace of him left behind…  She spends so much time looking for him that she lost her apartment and has moved into his old cottage, only taking jobs here or there to cover food and personal necessities.  Their friends at Fairytail worry but she doesn’t care anymore as her obsession grew, she even starts wearing his scarf… His lingering scent is the only thing that will soothe her as she cries herself to sleep each night.

A couple of dark guild headquarters had been hit recently and it was close to Magnolia so she heads for the area surmising that he might just go for the next closest one…

Hiding nearby amongst the dense brush she watches for any sign of her slayer…  Soon night will be falling and she debates whether to stay or come back in the morning but before she can make her decision she hears footsteps… and voices.  _‘Shit!’_ she crouches down and starts to back up under more cover.  Tripping and falling backwards over a log, the loud crunching sound echo’s. 

“Someone’s here!”  she hears shouting.  “Could it be the thing?”  There’s at least two of them.  “I don’t know!” The footsteps are getting closer, she starts to panic.  Flipping over, she pushes herself off the ground and breaks into a run.  “There!  I see someone!”  “Get ‘um!!”

 _‘Oh no!’_   She runs as fast as she can, dodging as branches scrape her limbs and face.  Turning to see how close they are she doesn’t see the rock jutting from the ground and trips, face planting into the hard ground. 

Before she can recover someone jumps on her back, pinning her.  “Gotcha!”

“No!!!” she screams.  “Get off me!!”

Flipping her over he holds her flailing arms.  “Looky what we found, pretty little thing ain’t ya?”

“Oooh, this is gonna be a fun one to play with…”

“Please just let me go!” tears gush down her face.  Almost on instinct she starts to scream, “Natsu!!!” 

“Shut your trap!” She stars for a second as the man on top of her slaps her face hard.  “There’s no one here to help you lady so keep it zipped or I will shut it for you.”

Indignant she screams again, “NATSU!!!”

The man punches her in the stomach, knocking the wind right out of her.  “Didn’t I tell you…” she closes eyes, readying herself for the next blow.

A deep growling sound, something rips the man off her, screaming, two screams, thuds… silence.  She peeks with one eye to see what is going on.  Standing above the bodies of the two men is a creature, part man, part… something else.  She closes her eyes tight again.  “Please don’t hurt me…” she whimpers.

Seconds tick by, and then minutes with no more sounds.  Slowly opening her eyes again, this time to see the creature kneeling next to her, she shuts her eyes tight until she feels a tugging on the scarf.  “No!” she shouts, eyes popping open, “You can’t have that!” she shrieks at the creature.  All fear cast aside, this _thing_ was not going to take his precious scarf from her!

Blinking, she can’t believe what her heart is trying to tell her.  “Natsu?”  She stares at the creature, arms and legs are fully covered in scales as well as some of his face and chest, yellowish eyes, folded red wings on his back, his hands are still human but the fingernails look longer and sharper.  Black horns sprouting out of… her eyes widen, it’s filthy, and longer, but the hair is pink!  “It is you!”  She sits up and throws herself on him.  More tears flood from her sockets as she pounds on his chest.  “You asshole!!  Why’d you leave me!!  Why!!”  She’s screaming at him.  “Why!!”  She pounds her fists until they hurt.  Her whole body is heaving from her sobs.  Too tired to continue she finally stops hitting him and just sinks against his chest.  “Why Natsu?” her hoarse voice barely a whisper.  “Two years…  do you realize how much pain I’ve been in with you gone?”  But the creature doesn’t move, doesn’t react, just stands there.  She let’s go and steps back.  “Natsu?  It’s me Lucy… Don’t you recognize me?” But he just stares at her.  “I-I can’t believe you don’t remember me…” Her tears grow heavier.

He turns and starts walking away.  “Wait!” she screams at him.  “You can’t leave me again!”  When he doesn’t stop walking she rushes up and grabs his shoulder.  He growls at her causing her to pull her arm back.  Expecting an attack, she puts her hands on her keys ready but he simply turns and keeps walking away so she grabs her travel pack and follows.  Luckily for her he walks at a mild pace that she can keep up with, but as darkness descends in the forest, it becomes difficult to see. 

She keeps her hands up to block branches, but trips over a log.  “Oww!” she cringes when her knee hits an exposed rock.  All of sudden, she feels herself being lifted up, “Natsu?”  He doesn’t respond but carries her until they reach a flat area outside of the tree line.  With the light from the moon, she watches him curiously as he puts her back down and starts to gather branches for a campfire.  _‘So, he doesn’t recognize me, won’t talk… growled at me… but he doesn’t act like a total animal either.’_  

He starts the fire and takes some meat out of a sack and cooks it.  While he eats she does the same, pulling out food of her own and sets up her bedroll.  After an hour of silence, she tries to talk to him again.  “Natsu?”  No response.  _‘Maybe he doesn’t remember his name…’_   “Excuse me, do you have a name?”  he looks at her, but doesn’t say anything.  “Okay, well is it okay if I just call you Natsu?”  He continues to stare but doesn’t reply.  “Well that’s what I’m gonna call you.”  She starts to just talk even though he never says anything back, asking him questions, then moving on to telling stories about them to try and jog his memory.  All the while he just watches her, no change to his facial expressions.  This goes on for several hours until Lucy is getting tired.  She yawns, “I think I’ll go to bed now.  Please don’t leave me here alone, it’s scary in the dark.  Good Night Natsu.”  She lays down on her bedroll and curls up hugging the scarf, “Good Night Lucy,” she whispers to herself and closes her eyes.

But she can’t fall asleep.  This is not a new development for her, insomnia has become just another one of her problems since he left.  When she hears him moving, she opens her eyes to see if he’s leaving but to her relief he simply lies down with his wings around him like a blanket.  The sight brings tears back to her eyes, wishing he was holding her again like he used to…  She pulls the scarf over her face and starts to sob, doing her best to stifle any sound.  _‘I miss you so much Natsu!... Why’d this have to happen to us?  Just when I thought things were going to get better with Zeref and Acnologia gone...’_  she sniffles quietly.  _‘And now I don’t know what is worse!  You being gone these last 2 years or finding you and you not recognizing me!’_   her tears get heavier as she curls ever tighter into a fetal position.  “Natsu I miss you…” she whimpers.        

He smells salt and looks over to the blonde curled up in a fetal position.  Hearing the sniffling, he gets up and walks over to her.  She hears him moving and opens her eyes.  “Natsu?”  He doesn’t respond but lies down next to her and wraps a wing around them.  Warmth surrounds her body, “Thank you,” she murmurs and snuggles closer to him.  It doesn’t take long for her to fall asleep.

 

For four days, this goes on.  Lucy follows Natsu as he travels, always staying in the shadows, through forests, or other un-populated areas only stopping to hunt and sleep.  Each night when her tears start falling, he lays next to her like he did that first night; a comforting act, but the only time in their travels he shows it.  She doesn’t know why he does it, or if he even thinks what he is doing is to comfort her, but she doesn’t care; she’ll take any little glimmer of hope she can get.  And he doesn’t stop her from following him, nor pays any attention to what she is doing either.  Here and there she tries to talk to him, continues to tell him stories about them, about Fairytail and his friends hoping that something will get through but so far, no sign of recognition.  By day 5 she’s starting to lose hope, not to mention her feet and legs are killing her from all the walking. 

Recognizing the area, Lucy realizes he’s heading towards another dark guild.  When they get within sight of the building he turns to her and points to where they are standing.  “You want me to wait here?” she asks, but he doesn’t respond.  Instead he stretches his wings and takes off towards the guild.  She watches in horror and amazement as he lights the building up with dragon roars, more powerful ones than she remembered, hears the screams, loud explosions and crashes.  Dark black smoke billows from the structure.  People rushing out of the building, he swoops in and around catching as many as he can and throws them back into the flames that have now engulfed the building.  She covers her mouth in disbelief, the old Natsu avoided killing but this Natsu had no problem with it.  She knew from the reports that there were very little survivors but to see it in action…

As quickly as the attack starts it ends and when no more people come out of the building he flies back to where Lucy is waiting, grabs his bag, and starts walking away; no change of expression, no remorse.  “Natsu?”  But as usual, he doesn’t respond.  She slumps her shoulders, _‘Could my Natsu really be gone?’_  

That evening as they settle down, she tells him she needs to go and do something and to please not leave.  He just looks at her, but starts making the campfire so she assumes he’s not going to.  She heads far enough away where she cannot see the fire anymore and calls for Leo.

“Lucy!” Leo hugs her tight, “Where have you been, we’ve all been worried sick about you.”

“Please keep your voice down.” She hugs him back, “But I’m okay I guess.”  He lets her go.  “I um, found Natsu, and I’ve been following him.

“You found him!”

“Yes, but he’s not… what we remember.” She starts to tear up.  “He doesn’t remember us, he doesn’t even talk,” her tears turn into sobs, “it’s like he’s become a real dragon or an animal…”

“Oh Lucy…” Leo hugs her again as she sobs heavily into his chest.  “I’m so sorry…”

“C-could you let everyone know I’m okay?  But please don’t tell anyone I found him, or what I’m doing.  I’m hoping to figure out a way to get through to him… somehow.”

“Sure Princess, I’ll do that for you.  But do you need anything, food, clothes; you’re not looking too healthy.”

“That would be great, I didn’t pack for such a long journey and I can’t leave him or I might lose him again.”

“Stay here I’ll be right back.”  Leo returns in a few minutes with a bag, “Here, take these.”

Taking hold of the bag, “Thank you Leo.”  She starts to cry again as part of her doesn’t want to go back to Natsu. 

“What’s the matter, why are you crying again.” He hugs her tight.

She breaks down, “He… he kills without remorse now…” her chest heaving from her sobs.  “I knew that when he attacked the dark guild there was very little survivors but to watch it happen… it br-broke my heart.  I don’t care about the bad guys but… it’s just… the fact that the old Natsu hated killing and now…” she’s shaking.  “I wonder if my Natsu is really gone…”

“Lucy you can’t think that…” he tightens the hug.

Out of nowhere they hear a thundering roar and something rips her out of Leo’s arms. 

“Natsu?!” Leo shouts but Natsu growls at him with narrowed eyes and clutches to Lucy.

“Stay back Leo!” Lucy screams, “Just go…”

Leo takes a step forward and Natsu swipes at him snarling, “But what if he hurts you!”

“I don’t think he will, I think he’s trying to protect me from you.”   Leo’s eyes go wide.  “Natsu, please don’t Leo’s our friend.” She pleads, but he only responds by tightening his grip and more rumbling snarls.  “Do you see what I was telling you.”

Leo nods, “Alright Lucy I’ll go but don’t you dare hesitate to call me if he does anything…”

“I will.  I promise.”  Leo disappears.

Natsu calms down as soon as Leo is gone.  “You can let go of me Natsu.  He’s not going to come back.” But instead he stretches out his wings as if he is going to take off.  “Wait!  My bag, I need it.”  He looks down and grabs it before taking off with her still gripped tightly.

At camp, he finally lets her go and resumes eating his dinner as if nothing just happened.  She opens the bag and finds a few outfits, several bottles of water, and some easy to make meals.  _‘Thank you Leo.’_   Turning her back to Natsu, she takes a bottle of water and a rag and wipes away some of the dirt that clings to her body, the next time they pass a river or pond she really needs to take a bath.  Feeling a little fresher, she strips off her soiled clothing and puts on a fresh set.  When she turns around she sees Natsu staring at her and blushes, “Why are you staring at me like that?”  He turns his head as if caught doing something wrong.  _‘Was that a blush on his cheeks?’_   she wonders.  Grabbing a bag of spicy chips from the sack she walks over and sits near him.  “Would you like some Natsu?  It’s spicy, just like you used to like.” She holds the open bag out for him.  Sniffing it first he gobbles it all down.  Lucy smiles, “Guess you do still like that stuff,” and proceeds to eat her own dinner.

She lets things settle back down for a couple hours before talking to him again.  “Natsu why did you come looking for me?”  He just stares at her.  “Were you worried about me because that was really sweet of you.  Did you think I was being attacked?  Is that why you grabbed me?” he shakes his head _no_.  _‘Wait he’s never responded before to my questions!’_ she screams in her head _‘Am I making progress?’_   “Okay, if not being attacked, is it because I was crying?” he shakes his head _no_ again.  _‘Hmm…’_   “Did you think Leo was trying to steal me from you?”  He just stares at her but she swears he’s blushing.  “So, you thought Leo was going to take me away from you?” finally after a minute, he nods _yes_.  Her eyes grow moist.  _‘Okay Lucy, think like an animal’_.  “D-do you see me as… as a potential m-mate?” she stammers out.  His eyes expand a little, but he nods again, _yes_.  “You were reacting out of instinct I guess.”  Then she thinks about how animals behave, her eyes widen, “You’re not going to f-force me t-to…”  He shakes his head fervently _no_.  She exhales, “Okay, thank you Natsu.”  “But you don’t need to worry about Leo, he’s just our friend.  I know you might not remember him but you two were friends before.  He just wanted to make sure I was okay and to bring me supplies like these,” she shows him the bag and its contents.  “And I wouldn’t let him take me away from you, I want to be with you.  Natsu, do you understand?”  He kind of nods as if he does.  “Good, we’re making some progress here.”

That night he doesn’t even wait until she starts crying, as soon as she lies down to go to sleep he lies down next to her and wraps his wings around them and this time he surprises her when he puts his arm around her waist and pulls her tight to him.  She smiles and closes her eyes, “Good night Natsu.”

 

Another month passes following the same routine but a few things do change.  It’s like he realizes that she cannot keep walking and travelling like he does.  So sometimes they stay in one place for more than a day or two, and when he picks these places there is often a river or pond nearby so they can bathe.  Once a week she calls on Leo who brings her fresh clothing and takes her old stuff back to Fairytail for her, including a couple of outfits for Natsu. He brings her food and water and by her request spicy snacks after explaining the progress she’s made.  Of course, Leo doesn’t mind as long as he doesn’t hurt her.  They keep their meetings short so she doesn’t alarm Natsu; he may now understand that Leo meant him no harm but she wasn’t willing to take any chances yet.

Six months later.  Lucy has made some progress.  When she asks him questions he at least responds with head or hand gestures.  She tells him stories about them from the past, or of their friends and there are times she swears he reacts to certain names, places, or events with facial changes, even the occasional smile; like when she’s talks about his constant bickering with Gray he actually grinned; but still no words. 

A year later.  One sunny day, Natsu has found them a small pond and waterfall to camp near so while he goes off hunting for their dinner, she decides to take a bath.  Humming to herself as the water cascades over her body, she doesn’t hear someone coming before it’s too late.  A hood is thrown over her head and she feels her body being dragged out of the water.  She starts screaming for Natsu. 

“Natsu?” she hears a male voice, _‘Wait I know this person…’_  “How can he help you if he’s been dead 3 years.” 

“He’s not dead!” She screams.  “Natsu Help!!”

A loud roar, they stop moving and the person drops her; she tears the hood off and sees Natsu fighting her kidnapper.  “Sting!  You idiot!”  She rushes between them.  “Go Away before he kills you!”  She hugs onto Natsu to stop him, but seeing her naked he quickly wraps his wings around her body to shield her and growls.  “Damn it Sting just leave!”

“Leave?  I can’t leave you with him!  Look at him, the END side has taken over!  And you’ve been MIA for a year, a lot of people think you’re dead too!” 

“He won’t hurt me but he will kill you if you try to take me away from him and I don’t want to leave him either!”

“Why!” Sting screams back, “He doesn’t deserve you.  You should be with me instead!”

“Sting he thinks I’m his mate!  I love him, damn you, now get out of here and don’t you tell anyone you found us or I’ll hurt you!”

“No!” Sting rushes at them, “You’re coming with me Lucy.”

Natsu pushes Lucy behind him and as Sting turns on his Dragon Force, he does the same.  They both send a dragon roar at each other but Natsu has doubled in strength since their last fight and his roar easily pushes back and hits Sting head on sending him flying backward against a tree.  While this is going on, Lucy manages to get her clothes back on and rushes to block Natsu from advancing.  “It’s okay,” she tries to sooth the angry fire slayer.  “You got him.  He can’t hurt us…”  She see’s Sting staggering to his feet.  “See, now go Sting just get out of here!”

“Blondie you’re crazy to stay with him!” 

“Natsu is my problem not yours, just keep your mouth shut when you go home!” she snaps back.

Sting leaves and Lucy breathes a sigh of relief.  She hugs tightly to Natsu who surprisingly hugs her back.  “I love you so much Natsu…” She whispers.  “I wish you’d come back to your senses so we can just go home...”  She feels something wet hit her arm and looks up to see tears trickling down his face.  “Natsu?”

“L-Luce.” He stutters like a child learning to talk again.  “Love y-you too.”

Her eyes fill with moisture.  “I knew it, I knew you were starting to remember things!  Natsu… you do remember me now, right?”

He nods, “Yes.”

She squeezes him again, “Let’s go back to camp.  Did you catch dinner?”  He nods and picks up a couple of rabbits he had caught.  She smiles, “How about I make you spicy stew?”  That brings a grin to his face. 

After dinner, she sits beside him and leans on his shoulder.  “I have something I want you to look at, do you remember how to read?”  he nods _yes_.  She hands him a paper, “This was the last letter you left me before you disappeared.”  He opens it up carefully and slowly reads, moisture again filling his eyes as well as hers.  _‘I’m sorry Lucy.  I wish things had been different.  I didn’t realize until it was too late that the strange feelings I would have around you was…. Love.  But the demon inside of me is getting stronger, and I’m scared I won’t be able to control it.  I won’t risk putting you in any harm especially, from me, so I have to leave.  Please don’t try to find me.  I’ll always love you Luce…. <3 Natsu’_

She sniffles but smiles, “Maybe that love was still buried deep down somewhere and that’s why you couldn’t hurt me all this time.  And why after only a week you started looking at me like a potential mate, because if you hadn’t left, that’s probably what we’d be already…” she blushes.

“You be my m-mate?”

“Yes.” She smiles at him. 

“But… How you love me?” He looks down.  “I’m monster.”

“I don’t care what you look like or what you’ve done.  It could never change the love I have for you.”

He tugs his scarf that she still has wrapped around her neck.  “This why attracted mate, you had my scent on you.”

“You thought I was already marked by you?”

He nods.  “Couldn’t remember.”

“Natsu, I’ve studied your book for 3 years and I think I’ve figured out a way to help you.”

“Book?”

“Oh, I guess you don’t remember that.  Um, you died 400 years ago as a child and your brother Zeref brought you back to life.  The reason you have a demon side is because that’s what he could make you into.  Your full name is Etherious Natsu Dragneel or END for short.”  She stands up and grabs his book from her bag.  Sitting back down she puts it on her lap.  “When you fought Zeref 3 years ago, he killed you a second time, but I was able to bring you back by fixing your story.”  He looks at her confused.  “I know it’s a lot to try and understand, especially since you don’t remember everything.  Honesty I don’t even know how I was able to do it because I was told that touching your book should have killed me too.”

“If dangerous, don’t want you try.”

“I’ll be okay,” she lies and smiles to him.  “I guess when you had to trigger your END side, it slowly started to take over until it fully controlled you.  I think I can reverse it or something.  But I’ll need Levy’s help with writing that out correctly.”

“Levy?”

“Do you remember her?”

“Gajeel’s girl.”

“Yeah!  That’s her!”  she puts down the book and hugs him.  “You are starting to remember!”

“Need go home?”

“Unless you want me to go by myself?”

He shakes his head _no_ , “I come too.” 

“If we leave tomorrow morning it’ll take us a few days of walking.”

He grins and shakes his head _no_ , “fly now, better dark.”

“Okay, um let me pack up.  I can have Leo transport our stuff home so we don’t have to carry things.” She packs as she talks, “Oh, I’m so excited!  Wait, do you remember home?”  He shakes his head no.  “Well, you have a cottage that you lived in with your Exceed friend, Happy and I used to live in an apartment but after you left I moved into your cottage so that’s now _‘our’_ home.  Happy lives with his girlfriend Charle now, most of the time.”

“Remember Happy…”

“You remember Happy?”  He nods, “That’s awesome, Happy will be, well happy to see you again.”  He smiles.  “Who do you remember?”

“Most Fairytail, stories helped.”

“The stories I’d tell you?”  he nods his head.  “What about other guilds?”

He shakes his head _no_ , “Not much.”

“Is that why you didn’t recognize Sting?”  he nods _yes_.  “Okay, we can work on that.” She packs up the last of their things.  “Well that’s everything, I’m just gonna call Leo is that okay?”

He nods _yes_ , “Remember Loke.”

“Oh, he’ll be thrilled you remember him!” she pulls out Leo’s key.

“Hey Lucy, everything okay?”

“Everything is great!  Natsu is starting to remember things.”

Leo turns to Natsu, “Do you remember me now?”

Natsu nods his head yes, “A little.”

“Awesome Man, I’m glad to have you back!”

“Leo could you do us a huge favor and transport our stuff to the cottage?”

“Sure, anything for you two.”  He grabs their stuff.  “See you back at home Natsu, Lucy.” And disappears

“Are you ready Natsu?”  he nods.  “Are you nervous?”  he nods again.  She hugs him, “I’ll be right by your side okay, I’ll never leave you...”  He sighs and leans his head on her shoulder.  “…Ever.”

Speaking slow to put the words together, “Thank you Luce… for not… giving up...on me.”

 

It’s almost 3 in the morning by the time they reach their cottage in Magnolia.  Exhausted from flying for hours, Natsu is ready to pass out.  Lucy quickly cleans up and changes the musty bedding where he plops down.  “Miss, soft.” 

She smiles.  “I’m gonna take a quick shower okay, then I’ll join you.” Nodding, his heavy lids already starting to close.  Once he hears the water turn on and Lucy humming a tune, his eyes close completely and he drifts off to sleep. 

When she gets out of the bathroom, Lucy is towel drying her hair as she stares down at the sleeping man, this is the first time in the last year that she’s seen him look so peaceful.  Climbing on she cuddles to his side and starts to drift off but when he feels her against him, he weaves his arm around her body and wraps his wing over them, “Night, Luce.”

Her eyes get a little moist and heart quickens.  “Good Night Natsu.”

 

The next morning, she wakes early to sneak out to a store but just in case she leaves a note on the pillow.  When she returns, he’s still asleep so she tosses the note and gets to work with breakfast.  Spicy egg omelet with peppers and cheese, bacon, pancakes, and juice; he wakes to a smorgasbord of aromas.

“Yum!” he’s grinning when he walks into the kitchen.

Smiling, “Good morning Natsu.”

“Morning Luce.” He weaves his arms around her waist.  “Remember cooking.”

“You do?” he nods “Miss it.”

Her eyes tear up and she turns around in his arms, “I missed you…” she stares in his eyes.  “…so much.”

“Can I… Kiss…” her heart starts beating faster as she nods her head _yes_.  He leans down a little nervous and kisses her lips.  “Soft…” he mutters.

She smiles, “My first…”

“Kiss?” he cocks his head. 

She nods, “We never got this far before and I waited for you to be my first.”

“Me too.”  He smiles, “Again?”

“Oh yeah!” she initiates it this time, kissing him more roughly than he had expected.  Nibbling his lower lip, when he parts them their tongues start to dance.  He loves the way she tastes...  She moans in his mouth while weaving her hands in his hair.  All his senses are on overload, he can’t stop his own hands from moving along lower until they’ve reached her backside.  When he squeezes her ass, she moans again exciting him further but just as suddenly he pulls away from her.  “What’s wrong Natsu?”

He shakes his head, “Might hurt you.”

“Why would you hurt me?”

“Barely control myself.”

“You think you might lose control and be too rough?”  he nods and hangs his head.

“It’s okay Natsu,” she massages his head and runs her fingers through his hair.  “We can go slow.”

“Thank you.” 

She kisses his lips again, “How about breakfast then?”  That bring a smile back to his face.

 

While he finishes up his meal, Lucy leaves to find Levy.  It’s been a year and since she hadn’t stayed in touch, she didn’t know what everyone was up to so she starts at the guild hall.  As soon as she walks in there’s screaming and people rushing up to her but the loudest is definitely her best friend; her now pregnant best friend.

“Lu!!!” Oh my God you’re finally back!”

“Levy!” she hugs the girl, “Wow I return and you’re pregnant!”

Levy giggles, “Just 4 months.  We had to put off the wedding until after the baby is born cause I’m not walking down the aisle looking like a balloon.”

Lucy chuckles and hugs her friend again, “I’m so happy for you!  But I need to talk to you in private… with Gramps.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Oh, I’m ecstatic.” She grins as the two friends walk towards the Master’s office.

 

“Gramps I’ve got news on Natsu.” Even Levy’s eyes widen

“You found him?”  Lucy nods, “How is he?”

“Well, when I found him a year ago he was almost feral, didn’t remember me, didn’t remember anyone or anything, he didn’t talk, nothing.  But I decided to work on him.  By six months I could tell some it was returning, but not much.  It was only yesterday actually that he finally spoke and told me he remembered at least everyone here.  He can read words, but he’s still having difficulty saying them.” She sighs, “I’m just happy he remembers me.”

Levy- “If he was almost feral when you found him, I’m surprised he didn’t just attack you.”

“I was too, but he told me yesterday it was the scarf and the fact I had his scent on me that stopped him.” She recounts in greater detail the last year of their life to the shock of Levy and Makarov. 

Makarov- “I won’t bother turning him in for the destruction of the dark guilds, he was doing us a favor by getting rid of them.  But what concerns me is do you think he’ll snap again?”

“I can’t say for sure, but he hasn’t gone after any in the last seven months.”

Makarov- “And you think you’ve found a way to fix him?”

“Yes, that’s why I need Levy’s help.  I was able to fix his book once and I know I can do it again.  But when it comes to wording an enchantment correctly, I’d rather have someone more skilled help me.”

Levy smiles, “Of course I’ll help you guys.”

“Thank you Levy.”

Levy- “I’m just glad you are both home.”

Makarov- “For the time being it’s best if no one else knows he’s back.”

“I agree and I’m sure he would too.”

Makarov- “Do you think he’d be willing to see me?”

“He knows I came to find Levy, but I don’t think he’ll mind you too.  He’s finally comfortable with Leo coming around me.”

“Why, does he react to males being around you?”

“A little, but only if they threaten or try to take me away from him.”

Levy giggles, “He sees you as his mate huh?  Gajeel is the same way now.”

Lucy blushes, “Yeah, he started being possessive only a week after I found him.  He could’a killed Sting when he found us and tried to kidnap me.”

Makarov- “He almost killed Sting?!”

“I warned Sting to stay away but the idiot tried to fight Natsu.  Truth be told I think Natsu was holding back cause I’ve seen what he can do to a whole guild and Sting walked away with barely a scratch.  He just wanted Sting to leave me alone.”

Makarov- “Well that’s good news, sounds like he’s gained some control over his actions.”

Levy- “Or maybe you’re influence still works on him.”

“Is that what people think, that I can somehow control him?”

Levy giggles, “Not all the time, but yeah.”

Lucy blushes, “Well, guys, I don’t want to leave Natsu alone for too long, so we should go.”

 

When the trio arrives at the cottage, Lucy leaves them outside to check with Natsu first.  “Natsu?”  she doesn’t see him immediately but hears the shower running and walks to the bathroom door knocking, “Natsu are you in there?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, I have Levy and Gramps outside, is it okay for them to come in?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll be in the living room.”

“Okay.”

Feeling a little naughty, she tests the knob and finds it unlocked.  Peeking her head in, she can see his naked form through the mist facing away from her.  “Nice body,” she growls suggestively. 

He turns his head and uses his wing to cover his body, “Naughty!” he retorts.

Stepping into the room a bit she puts her hand on a hip and cocks it to the side, “I’m allowed to check out my mate’s sexy body,” she teases back with an indignant smirk, “If I want to.”

“Oh yeah!” he quickly grabs her by the wrist before she can escape and pulls her into the shower with him. 

“Natsu!” she’s screaming and giggling at the same time.  “Now I’m soaking wet!  A-and they’re waiting outside!” 

“See you.” He points at her body. 

Looking down at herself she remembers she had worn a white top that’s now see through.  “Uh!  Now who’s the perve!” she giggles blushing.  He starts to laugh as his wings pull back.  _Sigh_ , “It’s been so long since I’ve heard your laughter Natsu.”  “I…” But her voice cuts off when she sees his package.  Her face turns bright red and she slams her eyes shut.  “I-I should be going.”

“Why?”

“Y-you are still naked remember, a-and I can see everything…”

He looks down at himself.  “Oh.  No like?”

“Like t-too much,” she stammers beat red, “I-If I don’t leave I may not be able to control myself…”

He chuckles, “Soon?  I hope.”

She opens her eyes, and softens them, “Me too.”

Grabbing a spare towel, she hurries and changes in the bedroom then goes to get Levy and Gramps.  “Everything okay my dear?  Why is your hair wet?”

She blushes, “Um, water fight in the bathroom.”

“Uh-huh…” Levy smirks. 

“Anyways he’ll be out soon.  Let’s sit in the living room for now.”

Levy- “In the meantime, can I take a look at the END book?”

“I’ll bring it out, but I don’t think it’s safe for you to touch it.”

Makarov- “Why is that?”

“I was told I should have died when I started touching the words in it, but for some reason it didn’t kill me.  So just to be on the safe side, I don’t let anyone else touch it.”

At the same time she’s walking out of the bedroom with the book, Natsu is coming out of the bathroom, changed and cleaner looking.  She holds out her hand to him and he willingly takes hold of it making her smile.  “Come on,” she squeezes, “They’re excited to see you.”

While the two girls talk about the book, Gramps and Natsu catch up on lost time.  “So how you doing my boy?  I’m glad to see you again.”

“Happy I home.”

“It’s a good thing Lucy found you.  She never gave up hope that girl…” Natsu looks over at Lucy who’s chatting and giggling with Levy.  “…that she’d find you and bring you home again.”

Natsu smiles.  “I love her.”

“Finally, to hear you say those words!” Makarov tears up, “warms my old heart.”

Makarov stays for an hour, but Levy longer as she and Lucy immediately get to work on the book.  To keep him busy, Lucy brings out photo albums, scrap books, and any other nostalgia she can find in the cottage for him to go through; maybe it will jog more of his memories.  But her first and most important task is to get him changed back.

Lucy opens the book up to a specific page, “As far as I can tell, this is where it talks about his ability to morph into END.” She points.  “See here.” 

Levy reads, “Yeah, I see what you’re talking about.  So, you think if we can figure out a way to cut it out of the book or something, he’ll become the old Natsu again?”

Lucy sits back in her chair, “That’s what I’m hoping for.”  She looks over to Natsu as he slowly flips through an album.  “Or at least give him the ability to turn it off and on when he wants to, not _it_ controlling him.”

“Tweaking the words that are already there might be the easiest route.”  Levy taps her chin.  “Like here…” she looks back at the book, “… where it say’s ‘Once the END form is fully manifested, it will become the conscious entity’.  You could add something like, ‘until the host chooses to turn this form off’ or before the word ‘become’ add ‘will not’ and after ‘entity’ add ‘only it’s physical aspects’. 

“Or all of what you just said.”  Lucy takes scrap paper and writes it out.  _‘Once the END form is fully manifested, it will not become the conscious entity, only it’s physical aspects until the host personality chooses to turn this form off.’_  

“That sounds good, in theory.  Now the question is will it work in reality?”

“What’s scary is once I start making the changes, I can’t stop.  No matter what happens I just have to finish it and hope for the best.  It could work or it could make things worse.”

“Makes me wonder where Zeref even learned to write these books.  I’ve never come across anything in the magic library that tells you how to do it.”

“And now he may have taken that information to his grave.”

 

The girls talk for another hour or so until Lucy makes them all dinner. 

Levy- “So Natsu, did you want to see anyone else?  Maybe Gray or Happy?”

“Afraid to.”

“Are you worried about how you look?”  he nods. Levy chuckles, “You don’t look so bad, maybe just a bit scruffy from being a hermit all these years.  All you really need is a hair trim and maybe cut your nails a little, that’s all.”

“Think so?”

Levy nods and smiles sweetly, “I think so, Lu, what do you think?”

“Actually, I kinda like his longer hair.”

Levy giggles, “Well what the woman wants is more important.  Happy wife, happy life.”

Natsu cocks his head, “But Luce not wife.”

Levy smirks, “Not yet, but for as long as you two have been together, close enough.”

He blushes and Lucy turns bright red.  “Levy!”  but she’s laughing.  “Don’t scare him!”

Levy- “It’s okay Natsu, when you’re ready, come by the guild okay, no one will care what you look like.  We just all miss you.”

Natsu- “Thank you Levy.”

 

After Levy leaves for the evening, Lucy sits Natsu down and explains the plan they came up with.  She watches his reactions carefully and when his brows furrow she stops, “What’s wrong Natsu.”

“Remember Gray told me…what…happened,” he speaks slowly so he can get all his words out, “…when you fixed, book.  Scared you, hurt again.”

“Natsu,” she grabs his hand, “it looked worse than it actually was.  I came out fine.  See,” she caresses his face, “nothing’s wrong with me.”  He returns the gesture.  Closing her eyes, she sighs and leans into his touch, “I need to do this for you Natsu.”

He exhales, “Okay Luce.”

When she opens her eyes, he’s still staring at her so she smiles and whispers, “Kiss me again Natsu...”  He leans in and kisses her soft and slow...

 

Early the next morning while the sun is barely visible over the horizon, Lucy wakes up and sneaks out of the bedroom leaving him to sleep in.  She had decided to carry out her plan without him or anyone else around to stop her just in case it didn’t work.  What Lucy hadn’t told Levy is how she had travelled to the Alvarez palace and was able to find old scrolls Zeref left behind that describes the writing of the demon books.  The last time she altered the book, she was simply re-filling in the words that had been lost.  But in order to change words or structure, she would be required to use blood mixed with the ink.  It sounds drastic but if that was what the instructions said, she was willing to make any sacrifice to help Natsu.

Hidden inside a cabinet was the tools she had hoped to use if this day ever came.  Pulling the ink and a special fountain pen out along with a small, sharp knife she sets to work, pricking her finger and allowing the blood to drip into the bottle.  She was unsure of how much blood is required but decides to make it a 50/50 mix.  Now ready she opens the book to the page…

Exhaling, _‘It’s now or never!’_   She begins the short yet powerful alterations.

As soon as the pen touches the paper, an electricity shoots through her arm.  Just like before, as she slowly adds the new words, her eyes widen, her body stiffens, and runes appear on her body.  It takes all her energy and willpower to concentrate.  _‘Once the END form is fully manifested it will not become…’_ Midway through a new sensation takes over, it feels as-if something is trying to enter her body but she couldn’t stop if she wanted to, her body compels her to continue _, ‘…the conscious entity, only it’s physical aspects…’_ Without warning she can hear in her head Natsu mumbling her name, is she hearing things?  Colors start to change before her eyes, the smells around her intensify, and she feels hotter. _‘…until the host personality chooses to turn this form off.’_    With the last words set in blood, her hand drops to the side and the book begins to glow but she cannot move.  _‘What’s going on?’_   she’s screaming but no words come out.  Finally, her body begins to relax again but she is drifting in and out close to fainting.  The last thing she sees is Natsu stumbling towards her wingless…

She wakes up on the bed.  “Natsu?” she groans, her eyes open and try to adjust to the daylight.  A hazy figure hovers over her face and she reaches out to it.

“Lucy?” a hand meets hers and grips on tightly.  “Luce can you hear me?”

“You don’t need to shout…” she winces, “I can hear you fine.”

“But I’m not shouting.”   

Squinting her eyes as the figure comes into focus, pink hair.  “Natsu?”

“Yes Luce, I’m right here,” he squeezes her hand again, “Thank God you’re alright, you had me so scared!”

“You’re talking normal again…”

“Whatever you did worked, I seem to be back to my old self, I still have it but now and I can control my END side…. Though, you may be a little different now.”

“Why, what do you mean?”  he helps her to sit up, “Is it bad?”

“Depends on your perception.  I don’t think it is.”

She swings her legs off the bed, “Please, take me to the mirror, I-I wanna see.”  He helps her walk to the closest one.  As she stares at herself her mouth drops, standing there is a blonde woman with red highlights.  “Is that it?  I can handle that.”

“You smell different Luce, you smell like me a little, and I sense slayer magic in you now.”  His expression turns serious.  “What happened when you touched that book and I want the truth Luce.”

“I-I had to use my blood mixed into the ink to seal the spell.  It, may have tied me to you in some way… I’m now a part of your book.”  She sighs, “The process put me in a trance, I started to hear your voice in my head, all my senses were increasing, I felt like my body was on fire… and the last thing I remember before passing out is you walking towards me.”

“I hope that’s the only changes and something new doesn’t show up later.”

“Don’t scare me Natsu!” her body flares.  “This was hard enough as is without you making me feel bad.  I did this for you!”  His eyes widen as he sees scales popping up along her arms.  “At least show some appreciation that I risked my life for you!”  More scales. 

“Um Luce, you should calm down…”

“Why!” she screams

“L-look at your arms…”

She looks down and gasps, “I have scales!”

“You didn’t a moment ago, they started appearing when you got angry.

“What’s going on Natsu?” panic in her voice.

“That’s the slayer traits being triggered by your emotions.”

Shrieking, “Seriously!!” her whole body erupts in flames.

“Lucy! You need to calm down!” he grabs her arms, “Or you’ll set the house on fire.”

She starts to cry, “I-I don’t kn-know how to control it!” 

He sucks up some of the flames before they can spread.  “Lucy, breathe,” he hugs her tight, “Just try to relax baby, it’s gonna be okay.  I’ll teach you how to control it.”

The flames die out.  “Natsu…” she whimpers, “I didn’t expect this to happen.”

“At least you’re still alive right, having new powers isn’t so bad.  And now I don’t have to worry about hurting you by accident.”

She sniffles and half chuckles.  Sigh, “I guess you’re right.  It could have been worse.”  Hugging tight, “I’m so happy to have you back Natsu, my Natsu…” her voice trailing off.

He smiles down at her, “Me too Luce…”  Their gazes linger, she licks her lip as he leans lower and captures them.  Passions build, their hands groping, he grips, needy, wonton, she presses her hips tight against him.  “Shall we continue from yesterday?” a low growl in the timbre of his voice.  Without a word, she rubs the bulge in his pants and looks at him with a lust and longing that actually makes him nervous.  He picks her up, gripping to her ass as she wraps her legs around his waist and heads to the bedroom…

 

Waking up in his arms in the darkness of their room, she cuddles to the warm body next to her.  His light snores soothing her, lulling her eyes closed again.  But her stomach starts growling, reminding her they had missed dinner.  She doesn’t want to move as part of her still believing she’ll wake up from this dream back in the middle of a forest again.  She sighs as the grumbles of her body grow louder.  He stirs next to her, “Luce, is that your stomach?” his voice still raspy from sleep.

“Yeah... I guess I should go eat.”

“Want me to make you something?” he offers

She laughs, “You wanna cook me food?”

“Hey!” But his voice trails.  “I can make instant ramen…”

“That sounds nice actually.” She squeezes his waist. 

He sits up, “Ramen it is!” he grins.  Getting off the bed he slips boxers on and walks to the kitchen.  After a few minutes she joins him, having donned one of his shirts.  He chuckles, “That’s a dress on you.” She sticks her tongue at him smiling.  He kisses her cheek, “But you’re adorable in it.”

She wraps her arms around his waist, “So we’re mate’s now, right?” 

He turns around in her arms and kisses the new mark on her collar bone, “Yes.”

“And…” she touches his mark “…now I’m stuck with you…” a chuckle to her voice

“Forever.” he grins.  “Stuck with this goofy big kid”

“You forgot sexy.”  She smiles at him, “my sexy dragon.”

They grab their bowls and plop down on the couch.  “Luce I think we can go to the guild tomorrow.”

“If you wish, even I’ll feel a little out of place; being gone a year… but it was all worth it.” She smiles.


	2. Ketsueki ketsugō (Blood Bond)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Anata o Mitsukemasu, Lucy saves Natsu by risking her life.... But there are consequences and now he must find a way to save her from their own story...

Anata o Mitsukemasu ending…. After a few minutes Lucy joins him, having donned one of his shirts.  Natsu chuckles, “That’s a dress on you.”  She sticks her tongue at him smiling and he kisses her cheek, “But you’re adorable in it.”

She wraps her arms around his waist, “So we’re mate’s now, right?” 

He turns around in her arms and kisses the new mark on her chest, “Yes.”

“And…” she touches his mark “…now I’m stuck with you…” a chuckle to her voice

“Forever.” he grins.  “Stuck with this goofy big kid”

“You forgot sexy.”  She smiles at him, “my sexy dragon.”

They grab their bowls and plop down on the couch.  “Luce I think we can go to the guild tomorrow.”

“If you wish, even I’ll feel a little out of place; being gone a year…” She smiles, “but it was all worth it.”

“Three years,” he sighs, “so much has probably changed. 

“That’s true, but the one thing that I know hasn’t changed is everyone’s hope you would return someday.”   Taking his empty bowl from him and placing it in the sink, “Let’s get some sleep Natsu, tomorrow we’ll go to the guild bright and early.”

“Yeah…” he yawns, “I can’t wait to eat some of Mira’s cooking again and slap Gray!”

“If he’s there, he and Juvia have a son, maybe a year old now I think.”  Walking to the bedroom she crawls into bed and lays on her side.  “The boys name is Arashi…” yawning, “Looks just like Gray too.”

“Really!” Natsu spoons up next to his wife, “Ice princess has a kid…” and hugs her tightly to him.  “We’ll need to catch up…” he whispers in her ear.  “Can’t let him beat me when it comes to a family.”

She blushes, “It’s not a competition silly.  I do, want to have children with you…  It’s just after these last few years… I don’t want to rush into it.” 

“I’m not gonna force you Luce…”

Lucy turns around in his arms, “I mean if it happens, it happens and… maybe I’m being a little selfish but we were separated for so long, I kinda want you all to myself right now.”

He chuckles, “Well when you put it that way…  I guess a kid can wait.” kissing her forehead.  “Goodnight Luce.” 

She snuggles into his chest, “Goodnight Natsu...” and falls asleep.

 

_“I’ve waited so long for this…” she whispers through the kisses.  “To finally have you…”_

_“We’ll be together forever…” suckling her neck_

_She closes her eyes and moans as his teeth puncture her skin “Forever…” as a haze of red forms over her vision…_

_When Lucy opens her eyes again the scene has suddenly shifted.  “Natsu?”  She looks around the empty black expanse, ‘where the hell am I?’  Sitting on a floor made of what she can’t tell, it’s not dirt like she’s outside, it’s not a room in a building or wood or stone, it almost has the consistency of paper.  “So strange…”_

_“I won’t let you hurt her!”  Lucy looks in the direction of the shouting._

_“Natsu?”  Getting off the ground she starts running towards it.  “Natsu!”_

“Lucy?”  He stares down at the girl writhing on the bed. 

_“Stay back Lucy!  I’m not gonna let him take you!”_

_As soon as Lucy can see who Natsu is yelling at she stops dead in her tracks.  “Zeref!” her eyes expand, “No, it can’t be, he’s dead!”_

_“It’s not really him, Luce, he’s like the narrator of the story.”_

Twisting and struggling in her sleep, panic takes over for him as her breathing becomes shallow and strained like she can’t breathe…  “Lucy!!”  he shakes her

_“I-I don’t understand…story?”  Lucy drops to the ground on her hands and knees.  “Natsu why do I feel so sick?” coughing out blood.  Collapsing, “I’m s-sorry Natsu…”_

_“Lucy!” he rushes over and cradles her in his arms._

_The strange Zeref look-alike smiles, “Natsu, there are consequences for what she did to save you…”_

“Lucy wake up!”  he shakes her harder this time.

“Natsu…”  her eyes pop open.

“Oh, thank goodness!”  He hugs her tight.   “I guess it was just a nightmare, but you had stopped breathing!” 

“I feel fine…” she buries her head again in his chest, “Just wanna go back to sleep.”  

“What were you dreaming about?”

“I…” she tries to recall details but her mind is already drifting off.  “…don’t remember...”

Natsu sighs, _‘I hope it was just a dream…’_  

 

When they reach the doors to the guildhall Natsu pauses and takes a deep breath, Lucy squeezing his hand reassuringly, “It’s gonna be okay.”

“I just keep thinking about some of the things I did while I was controlled by END…” he shudders, “they weren’t exactly good.”

“No…” she sighs, remembering that day she first saw him in action.  “But it wasn’t you, it wasn’t the Natsu we love doing those things.”  He leans into her hand when she caresses his cheek.  “And a lot of people don’t know it was you, so I wouldn’t bring it up unless you choose to.”

“Luce…  If it hadn’t been for you I’d still be that monster.  And I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make that up to you.”

Moisture fills her tear ducts, “Just spend each day loving me like it could be our last…”  She smiles at him, “that’s all I require.”

Natsu leans down and kisses her softly, “I definitely plan on doing just that.”  He has no idea how prophetic her words will turn out to be…

All of a sudden, the hall’s doors fly open startling them.  Natsu wraps his arms around Lucy and shields her on instinct; but it’s just Erza.  “Stop your jabbering and get your butts in here!”   she pulls the couple inside to the screams and jubilation of the whole guild. 

“Welcome Home Natsu!”  Members are rushing up to the pair.

Lucy, “H-how did you know we were outside.”

Erza points to Wendy, “She heard you two talking.”

Natsu cups the back of his neck, “Hey everyone, long time no see.”

“Oi, Flame brain!”

“Popsicle!” Natsu ducks a punch

Lucy chuckles, “Nothing’s changed…”   Natsu smirks from her comment.

Their closest friends drag them to a table and sit them down.  Questions start flying from every direction.  Where had they been, what had they been up to?  When had they gotten back, are they home for good?  How did Lucy find him, how did she change him back from END?  Does that mean he is back to normal?  Are they a couple now, did Natsu seal the deal? 

“Yes…” Natsu turns red. “I claimed Lucy as my mate…”

“Did you get her pregnant?!”

“No, Mira!” Lucy adds with a flush on her face as well. 

Gajeel walks up and sniffs her, “Bunny girl, why do you smell like Salamander?”

“That’s a little harder to explain…”  Natsu sits quietly through her recounting of the last year, from the time she found him until they returned.  He knows she’s left out a few parts, primarily the ones about the dark guilds, how was she able to transform him, and the details of their union which they don’t need to know, but for the most part she tells them everything. 

“What about you Natsu?  Do you remember the two years prior to that?”

He shakes his head, “When I came out of END’s control I lost my memory of that time…” Lucy looks at Natsu with a warm smile and squeezes his hand.  She knows that’s a lie, but they don’t need to know what he had done, at least not until he was ready to share it himself.  “Thank Mavis Lucy found me and was able to break through,” he squeezes her hand back smiling.

Mira- “How exactly was Lucy able to snap you back to your senses Natsu?  That part of her story was somewhat vague… 

“Well… when she first found me I had no idea who she was but I guess I found it intriguing that she had my scent on her from my scarf; that’s why I didn’t hurt her and I think a part of me thought she was already my mate.  My primal instincts kicked on and I felt an obligation to protect her.”

Gajeel, “That makes sense for a dragon to resort to that.”

Lucy nods, “I used to cry myself to sleep every night and that first night with him, as soon as he heard me crying he came and comforted me until I fell asleep, “she squeezes his hand, “he’s been doing it pretty much every night since no matter if I’m crying or not.” 

He squeezes back and smiles, “She would talk to me even though I didn’t respond at first, but she’d tell me stories about us, about you guys, anything to try and jog my memory and eventually I did start to remember.”

Gray, “So what about the END side, is it gone?”

Natsu shakes his head, “Whatever she was able to do, I still have it but I can control it now.”

Erza, “Well I’m just glad to have you two home!”

Gray, “Aye, we couldn’t have a Team Natsu without Natsu and Lucy!”

Wendy, “So what are your plans now that you’re back? 

Lucy, “Well, the first thing I wanted to do was have Natsu teach me how to control my new powers.”

Gajeel, “That’s what I don’t understand, our mates don’t change just because of us, yet you did.”

Lucy, “It’s not because of the mating thing, it has something to do with my tampering with the END book…” she trails off that last part.

Erza raises an eyebrow, “Tampering with his book?”

Biting the corner of her lip, Lucy starts to fidget, “Err, well… 

Natsu interjects saving her from answering, “We don’t really know how or why it happened so until we do we probably shouldn’t say anymore.”  Lucy breathes a sigh of relief.  “But now Luce has developed fire magic and since she doesn’t know how to control it I need to teach her how to deal with it.”

Gray, “How you gonna do that?  Are you guys gonna go somewhere to train?”

Natsu,“No, I think we can do it here at home.”

Wendy, “Yay!  You guys have been gone long enough!”  Lucy chuckles at the young girl’s, well now young woman’s enthusiasm.

Natsu smirks, “So Stripper, where’s your son?  Lucy said he looks just like you, the poor kid.”   

“Screw you Pyro!  You’re just jealous cause my kids are gonna look better than yours!”

“Oh yeah!” Natsu gets into Gray’s face

“Yeah!” Gray pushes back and a fight breaks out.

Gajeel snickers, “You guys should stop bickering so much or one day your kids might end up dating.”

“Shut up metal head!”  The two boys yell at the same time.

Lucy rests her head on her hand and sighs, “It’s so nice to be home…”

 

The next morning, Lucy wakes up to make breakfast while Natsu sleeps in.  Standing in front of his wood burning stove, she grabs the box of matches.  _‘Hmm, I should be able to light this myself now…’_  Trying to blow out a small stream of fire at the pieces of wood, at first nothing happens so she tries again, concentrating harder this time.  **Whosh!**  A big ball of flames hits the wood splintering it and sending burning fragments around the kitchen.  “Shit!  Shit! Shit!”  Lucy runs around with a pail of water trying to put out the small fires and while that works, it also causes the smoke to billow into larger clouds fogging up the room.    

Smelling smoke Natsu walks out of the bedroom rubbing his eyes.  “Lucy what are…”  his eyes immediately widen when he sees a couple of fires growing on the kitchen table and a chair cushion.  As serious as the situation might be he can’t help but start laughing.  “Lucy…”  he’s chuckling as he goes around and sucks up the flames before they can do anymore damage.  “…What were you trying to do?  You know you can just eat the flames.”  

“It’s not funny!”  she sniffles, “and I didn’t think about eating it…”

“Why was there so much fire anyways?”

Pouting and close to tears, “I-I was just trying to light the stove myself… but the fire that came out of me was too big.”

“I guess we should start your training right away babe; before you burn the place down.”  He smirks.

“ _Tch_.”   She crosses her arms, “Sure, laugh it up.  Make your own breakfast while you’re at it!” stomping away to the bedroom.

“Luce…”  he’s still chuckling as he follows her.  “It’s okay, we’ll just go to the guild for breakfast,” Natsu sits next to her on the bed, “and I’ll even clean up the kitchen so you don’t have to worry about it,” putting his hand on her thigh.

Still pouting, “You don’t need to laugh at me though…” her voice much whinier than usual, “I’m not used to the fire stuff yet.”

“I’m sorry Luce, I wasn’t trying to mean.  Come on,” he pulls her off the bed.  “Let’s go eat and then we’ll start your training.”

Exhaling, she slumps her shoulders, “Oh-kay.”  His eyebrow raises, she’s acting a little strange this morning…

At the hall, his suspicions mount after breakfast when Gray comes up to their table looking to pick a fight with Natsu.  Nothing unusual about that, it almost feels like the 3 years Gray hadn’t seen his friend never happened… or he’s trying to make up for lost time.  Either way her reaction puzzles and concerns the fire dragon even further.

“Oi Pyro!  Fight me!  My fists got 3 years of pent up energy it wants to release on your face!”

Natsu moves to stand, “Ice..”  but Lucy beats him to it.

“Oh yeah Stripper, if a fight’s what you want bring it!”  she screams as her body bursts into flames.

“Um, Lucy?”  Natsu stares at her dumbfounded. 

And, so does Gray, “I meant Natsu…”

“Think I can’t take you!” Lucy narrows her eyes.  “I’m all fired up now!”  She punches the air with a flaming fist and heads straight for Gray.

“Lucy!”  Natsu snaps and grabs her, “What are you doing!”

“Ahh!  Let me go, he asked for a fight!”

“Damn it Luce, you haven’t been acting like yourself this morning!”  She struggles in his grip and strangely she seems stronger, but he’s still physically more powerful than her.  “Calm Down!”  Natsu tightens his hold on her.  “Gray, go get Wendy please, I think, there’s something wrong with her.”

“Y-yeah…” Gray stammers and rushes for FairyHills.

Lucy thrashes in his arms for a few more minutes, growling, but Natsu can sense her energy running low.  Figuring she’ll give up he just holds on and lets her ride out this wave of emotions.  With little warning,  she doesn’t just give up, she passes out.  “Lucy?”  Wait, something’s not right; her energy is not just low, it’s dangerously low. 

Returning with both Wendy and Levy who had overheard what was going on, Gray finds Natsu and Lucy in the infirmary.  “What happened, why is she passed out now?”

“I don’t know, I could feel her getting tired but now her energy is really, really low and she won’t wake up.”

Wendy checks Lucy over, “Natsu’s right, I can barely sense any magic coming from her.  Everyone please wait outside, I’m going to try and restore her.”

When the two boys and Levy leave the room, Levy corners Natsu.  “Tell me what happened, and don’t leave out any details.”

“Well, Gray here came up and wanted to pick a fight…”

“No, Natsu start with the full details of how Lucy brought you back after I left.”

He cups the back of his neck, “All I can tell you is what she admitted to because she performed the spell when I wasn’t in the room.  She said she had to use her blood mixed with the ink when she made the changes to the book and she thinks that her blood now ties her to me…  That’s why she may have my magic, she’s like a part of the book itself, like I am.”

Wendy comes out, “She’s out of danger and sleeping for now, but I have no idea what caused her magic to drain like it did.  Based on what Gray told me, it doesn’t seem like it should have used up all her energy.”

Natsu is close to tears, “Levy, do you think this has to do with her messing with my book?”

“I’m starting to think so.” 

“But how do we help her?!”

“I have no idea Natsu.  I need to do more research on these demon books, is it okay if I search your house to see what Lucy may have used to figure it out?”

“Of course, anything.  Go right over… but I’m gonna stay here until she wakes up.”

Levy puts her hand on his shoulder, “Natsu, we’ll figure this out,” and leaves the hall.

Gray, “You gonna be okay man?  I need to go check on Juvia at home.”

“Yeah, I’ll be alright.  Wendy, I’m gonna check the archives to see if we have any information on these books, could you stay with her?”

“Sure Natsu, I’ll keep watch over Lucy. 

“Thanks Wendy.”

Gray leaves and Wendy goes back into the infirmary while Natsu heads downstairs.  He has no idea where to even begin looking…

 

Down at Natsu and Lucy’s cottage, Levy searches for anything her friend had collected regarding the demon books or specifically, the E.N.D. book.  Luckily for the brunette, Lucy had shown her a secret compartment in her desk where she used to hide her manuscript from everyone and that is exactly where she found what she hoped she had been looking for.  Ancient looking scrolls and documents pertaining to how Zeref created the demon books.  _‘I wonder where she found these?’_   Levy ponders as she gathers everything and takes it to the kitchen.  Along with the papers, she also finds the E.N.D. book and she guessed, the ink Natsu had been referring to sitting on top of the desk and takes those as well.  Heeding Lucy’s warning about the book, and especially after what she had seen, Levy does not open the book.  But she knows it may contain information to help explain what is happening to her friend.

 

A couple of hours pass unchanging and unawares for the unconscious blonde.  So far Natsu is not having any luck in their archives but he’s not surprised, this was probably the first place Lucy checked in her quest to help him.  If she had found anything, she had most likely taken it.  He heads back upstairs to the infirmary.  “How’s she doing Wendy?”

“The rest seems to be working.  Her magic and energy levels are almost back to normal so I’m sure she’ll wake up very soon.”

 _Exhale_ , “That’s good news.”

“I suggest trying to keep her calm, and don’t let her use any magic until you figure out what’s happening to her.  I took her keys…” handing them to Natsu.  “Leo dropped in to check on her too using his own magic so I already explained to him what was going on.  He said he’ll keep the others from responding to her if she tries to contact them.”

“Oh, good thinking, thank you Wendy.”

“Ughhh.” Lucy moans alerting them to her state.

“Lucy?”  Natsu walks over to his mate and gently takes her hand. 

“Natsu?” she responds groggily, “Where am I?”

“You’re in the infirmary.”

“What… happened?”

“You don’t remember?”

She shakes her head lightly, “For some reason I wanted to fight Gray, after that it’s like I had no control over my body or mind… I don’t even remember what happened once I was covered in flames.”

Natsu looks at Wendy concerned.  “Are memory lapses normal?”  But the girl also shakes her head no.  Turning back to Lucy he squeezes her hand, “Never mind, don’t worry about.  The main thing is Wendy says you’re okay for now.”

The blonde nods and closes her eyes again.  When he’s satisfied that Lucy has fallen back asleep he asks Wendy to stay with her while he goes to check on Levy.  Finding her still at the cottage, as soon as he walks in he sees papers strewn all over the kitchen table and the brunette hunched over it with her reading glasses on deep in thought.  “Hey Levy, find anything?”

“Actually, yeah I’ve found quite a bit of information.” Looking up from her papers, “How is Lucy?”

“She’s out of danger for now, so what’d ya find?”

“I’m glad she’s okay for the moment, but according to what I’m reading… it’s going to get worse.”

All the blood drains from Natsu’s face, “What do you mean worse!”

“According to these scrolls, these demon books are called living books.  They aren’t just paper and bindings with spells that create demons; the books themselves are alive in a way.”  He looks at her confused.  “Okay so they don’t just describe the creature in detail, but is a record of that creature’s life, like a never-ending story.  Well the end is when that creature is finally killed or dies, at which time the book also will disappear or vice versa.  The story portion is not a word for word recording of the life, but more like a summary of what is happening, a storybook version.  Your story contains everything right up till the present time, so it contains how you killed Zeref and Acnologia and became the king of the dragons, it also has how END took over for a time and now you are back to normal.” 

“Wait, didn’t Lucy tell you not to touch the book?”            

“She did, but I didn’t touch it with my hands, I used a spell to turn the pages for me.”

“Oh, okay.” He exhales, “Considering what’s happening with Lucy, I don’t want to take any more chances.”

“I definitely agree.  Now when it pertains to Lucy, she is mentioned throughout your book because she was for the last 10 or so years apart of your life, but just as a character.  What surprised me, is from the moment she fixed your book the first time, she became more than just a character.  Those runes that had appeared on her body was her story being added, which means this END book has now become both of your stories.  The difference between the first time and now is that the first time the book still had no physical link to her.  When she fixed your story the second time using her blood to seal the words, it created a physical connection that it could attack.”

“But why would it want to attack her?”

“The best I can figure is that this book regards her interjection into it like a virus it must get rid of.”

He tips his head confused, “Huh?”

“When we get sick, our bodies try to fight whatever is making us sick.  Same thing here, your book thinks it’s sick and it’s trying to fight it.  Now the question is, how do we stop it.”

“Ugh, why would Lucy put herself in this kind of danger just to save me?” 

“I don’t think she realized what she was doing would hurt her and in her rush to figure out how to help you, she only read the parts she needed to and didn’t study the rest.  I think that is why Zeref had made the comment that humans usually cannot survive touching these books.”

Natsu slumps onto the couch, “But how do we help her?  We can’t let her be killed by my book.”

“Unfortunately, there’s not enough material for me to answer that.  I have a feeling Lucy found much of this information in Alvarez, at Zeref’s palace.  We should confirm that with her and leave immediately.”

“Are you okay to travel, um, in your condition?”

“Geez,” Levy rolls her eyes, “I’m only pregnant, not disabled.”

“Yeah, but will Gajeel be okay with you going…  I don’t know if I’d let Lucy is she were pregnant.”

“He won’t be able to stop me, although, he’ll most likely insist on going.”

“Alright.  We should get back to the guild, Lucy might be awake by now.”

Levy and Natsu head back to the hall and continue their discussion along the way, both agreeing that they shouldn’t hide anything from Lucy.  When they arrive, they find that she is up and seemingly back to normal so they call Makarov and Gajeel into the infirmary.  After explaining the situation to everyone in the room, Lucy sits there silently for several minutes before responding. 

With her head hung, “I’m so sorry Natsu, to put you through this.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re finally able to come home only to have to deal with my possible…”

“Don’t, say it.” He grits his teeth.  “You risked your life to save me, if the rolls had been reversed I’d have done the same thing.  But I will not let this _thing_ take you away from me now!”

“Natsu…” tears well up in her eyes

He grabs her and pulls her into a hug, “We’re gonna find a way to save you Luce!”  Now he’s crying, everyone’s crying; well Gajeel is trying to hide it, but he’s got tears in his eyes too. 

Levy, “Lu, where did you find Zeref’s scrolls?”

“In Alvarez.”  She sniffles.  “Why?”

“We need to go back there, he might have left information that can help us figure this all out.” 

“Levy…”

She crosses her arms, “Gajeel, don’t even bother.  You can come along if you’re worried but I’m going.”

“I wasn’t going to stop you.”

“You weren’t,” she turns to him with a surprised expression.

“No.  Just tell you the palace was torn down a few months ago.  According to my contacts back at the magic counsel, anything he had left behind relating to magic and spells were taken to the Magic Library.”

“Hell, that makes it easier for us!”  Natsu grins, “and I won’t have to ride on a boat.  We could even leave right now.” 

Gajeel, “How, the next train won’t be for a couple more hours?”

“I can carry Lucy, Happy can carry Levy, and Lily can carry you.”

“I’m coming too.” Interject Wendy, “Just as precaution.”

“And I’ll carry her.”  Adds Charle.

Levy, “Then let’s go!  Time is of the essence and if we leave now we can reach there by 2pm. 

Makarov, “You kids be careful, and if you need anything just send a message by carrier.”

 

Walking into the library, “Where do you think they put it all?”  Lucy asks Levy

“I doubt someone has sorted it so it may still be in boxes in one of the warehouse wings.”  She scrunches her nose.  “I’m gonna guess West section, since Alvarez is from the Western continent.”

“Works for me.” Natsu responds while everyone else nods in agreement.

 

“No way it was that easy…” Levy exclaims as soon as they walk into the wing.  Crates stamped _‘Alvarez’_ and _‘Zeref’_ greet them as soon as they walk in.  Natsu and Gajeel begin the task of unstacking and opening the crates while the girls start going through them, each donning special reading glasses to speed up the process.  Finally, after a couple of hours of searching, they find scrolls describing the demon books. 

“Here we go,” Lucy brings it over to Levy, “I think this is what you are looking for.”

“Thanks,” Levy unrolls the scrolls over the table in front of her and Lucy returns to the stacks to continue looking for more information.  As she reads, the more shocked Levy becomes but she hides her reactions from her friends.  “Hey Lucy, Wendy could you guys go out in the library and find me a book, I need it to figure something out.”

“Sure Levy,” the two girls walk up to her

“I’m sorry I don’t know what it will be called but I need to find something that tells me about different dimensions and planes of existence.  According to these scrolls, these books are linked to a void between our world and hell and to figure out how to fight the book I need to figure out how to reach this place.”

“Um, okay…”  Lucy is somewhat confused.  “That might take a while.”

“I know you guys, I’m sorry but I need it to help me.”

“We’ll see if we can find something.”

“Thanks.” 

As soon as the girls are gone Levy calls Natsu over to her.  “I have good news and bad news.”

 _Exhale,_ “What’s the bad news?”

“According to this scroll, you will need to fight your own story for control in the plane that it exists in.  I don’t know exactly what you will encounter or who you must fight when you are there.  But you must win at all costs.”

“What’ll happen if I don’t win?”

“You both will die.”  His eyes widen.  “Because what happens in the books world, happens here in the real world.” 

“What the hell was the good news?!”

“At least there is a way to try to save her.”

 _Sigh_ , “And how do I get to this dimension?”

“That’s what I sent Lucy and Wendy to look for, a book that’ll tell me how to travel to other planes of existence.”

“Should we tell her what we’ve found?”

“I leave that decision to you Natsu…”

 

It takes the two girls a couple of hours but they manage to find a spell book that explains how to travel to another parallel dimension.  So, with the information they needed in hand, they gather up that book and a few other scrolls relating to the demon books with plans to take them back to Natsu and Lucy’s house where they will be kept for now.  By the time they leave the library, it’s already getting dark so the group calls it a night, heading to their own homes with the plan to meet at Natsu’s in the morning.

 

~~~

 

_Lucy’s dream…_

_“I’ve waited so long for this…” she whispers through the kisses.  “To finally have you…”_

_“We’ll be together forever…” suckling her neck_

_She closes her eyes and moans as his teeth puncture her skin “Forever…” as a haze of red forms over her vision…_

_Lucy and Natsu in the same dream…_

_When Lucy opens her eyes again the scene has suddenly shifted.  “Natsu?”  She looks around the empty black expanse, ‘where the hell am I?’  Sitting on a floor made of what she can’t tell, it’s not dirt like she’s outside, it’s not a room in a building or wood or stone, it almost has the consistency of paper.  “So strange…”_

_“I won’t let you hurt her!”  Lucy looks in the direction of the shouting._

_“Natsu?”  Getting off the ground she starts running towards it.  “Natsu!”_

_“Stay back Lucy!  I’m not gonna let him take you!”_

_As soon as Lucy can see who Natsu is yelling at she stops dead in her tracks.  “Zeref!” her eyes expand, “No, it can’t be, he’s dead!”_

_“It’s not really him, Luce, he’s like the narrator of the story.”_

_“I-I don’t understand…story?”  Lucy drops to the ground on her hands and knees.  “Natsu…” coughing out blood.  Collapsing, “I’m s-sorry Natsu…”_

_“Lucy!” he rushes over and cradles her in his arms._

_The strange Zeref look-alike smiles, “Natsu, I told you, there are consequences for what she did to save you…”_

_Lucy’s body slumps in his arms, “No Lucy stay with me!  Please Lucy!”_

“…Please Lucy!”  Natsu wakes up in a panic and shoots to a sitting position in bed.  Next to him, he sees his mate struggling for air again.  “Lucy wake up!” he shakes her hard.  But unlike the night before, this time he sees a tiny amount of blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

“ _I’m sorry Natsu…” her eyes close as her breathing gets shallower…_

“Oh no!”  Shaking her harder this time, “Lucy!!”

“Natsu…”  her eyes pop open as he’s wiping the blood off her.

“I think you were having the same nightmare,” He hugs her tight, “and now you’re bleeding…”

“But I feel fine…” she buries her head again in his chest, “Just wanna go back to sleep.” 

“Do still not remember the dream?”

“No…” her mind is already drifting off.  “I…don’t...”

“Well I think I do…  I think we were both in the same dream.”

“How is that possible…” her words are slurring from being half asleep.

“The book…”  is all he can manage.  Sighing, _‘’Things are definitely not okay…’_

   

The next morning Lucy wakes up and it’s like the dream never happened.  She doesn’t even remember being woken up by Natsu nor has any traces of why blood was seeping out of her mouth.  It baffles him because he remembers the dream, and more vividly than he’d like to, but not wanting to worry her, he keeps it to himself. 

Wendy arrives first, wanting to check on Lucy’s health so Natsu asks her to keep an eye on her while he gets breakfast for all of them.  When he encounters Levy heading to the cottage, he stops her to tell her about the dream.  “I don’t know why I can remember it and she doesn’t.  It was the second time she’s had the dream but this time was different.  First off, I swear I was there too, and second, she really was bleeding.”

“That is concerning.” Levy taps her chin, “It could be the book is doing more damage to her than we realized.  “But I’m not surprised you had a shared dream, especially if it’s the books doing.”

He hangs his head, “I’m so afraid I’m going to lose her Levy.”

“Natsu,” she hugs him, “Don’t lose faith just yet….”

 

Mira was kind enough to whip up breakfast bento’s for a large group, plenty to go around.  Gray and Gajeel helped him to carry it all and by the time they get back to Natsu’s cottage, the three girls and one more guest had arrived.

“Anna?”  Natsu exclaims, “What brings you here?”

“Hello Natsu, Makarov contacted me about what was going on.  I have some understanding of travelling between different dimensions that may assist you all.”

“I showed Anna the book we found and she’s been helping me to write a spell to get you into the books parallel world.”

“That’s awesome.  I think the sooner we do this the better…”

 

Juvia drops by with Arashi a little later and it turns out to a be a great distraction for Lucy.  As the two women chat and play with the boy, Wendy pulls Natsu aside.  “Levy told me about the bleeding last night…” 

“Did you…” he gulps, “find anything?”

She nods, “Lucy might be putting on a brave face right now…” they both look over to see her sitting on the floor bouncing the toddler on her knee.  “…but I think she’s hiding some of the pain she’s having… from you.”

 _Sigh_ , “I’m not surprised, she doesn’t want me to worry more than I already am.”

“I could feel internal damage to her cells and it’s not just in one location, it’s… all over her body like a cancer just spreading.”

Nastu looks at his mate again and sighs, “Is there anything you can do for her Wendy?”  But the young woman shakes her head bringing tears to his eyes.  He quickly wipes them away not wanting Lucy to see him crumbling…

 

Needing a few herbs from Porlyusica to place Lucy in the suspended animation, Levy sends Natsu and Gajeel to get them from the healer.  It takes some cajoling to see the crotchety old woman, but eventually they do it, dragging Gray with them.     

While the boys are gone.  “Levy…”  Lucy sits next to her friend, “I know that you guys are not telling me everything that’s going on…”  the brunette opens her mouth to rebut but the blond puts her hand on her friend’s shoulder, “…but it’s okay.  Maybe I don’t wanna know…  If Natsu fights he could…”  But she doesn’t finish, instead she sighs, “It’s weird… I spent 3 years worried to death about Natsu, did things, saw things that I never thought I’d ever do and obviously, took risks I shouldn’t have.  I even hid most of it from all of you because I didn’t want you to worry, never taking into consideration how it made you all feel…”  giving a strained chuckle, Lucy half smiles.  “Now the shoe is on the other foot and I know Natsu is putting on that same brave face for my benefit that I did with him and all of you before.  But Levy,” she takes one of her friend’s hands, “You have to promise something for me…”

“Promise what?”

“I’ll tell you after you promise.”

“I’m not gonna…”

“Please Levy!  Just say you’ll promise to do what I’m about to ask you to do.”

Seeing the seriousness in her friend’s face, “Alright Lu, I promise.”

“I know I’m dying,” Lucy smiles, “and that this plan may or not work so if it comes down to us both dying or just me, I want you to save Natsu.”   

“Lu…”

“You promised me…”

 _Sigh_ , “I promise Lu, I’ll pull him out of the spell.”

“Thank you Levy… and please don’t tell anyone…”

 

With everything ready, the plan will take place the following day and everyone returns to their homes to get some rest. 

That night, Lucy wanders outside while Natsu is in the shower under the starry skies.  She sighs as she plops down on the front lawn, pulling her knees to her chest.  _‘I have no regrets…’_  she admires the guild stamp on her hand _.  ‘These were the happiest years of my life.’_    Tilting her head up and closing her eyes, breathing in the scents around her.  Memories flash back to her, that first meeting in Hargeon…  when she walked into Fairytail for the first time…  Natsu catching her when she jumped from Phantoms castle…  The Infiniti clock…  The way he snapped when Dimaria tortured her…  So many time’s he’d been able to catch her when she fell, saved her too many times to count…  Fought for her when he thought all was lost…  Lucy sighs again and opens her eyes. _‘I always had faith in him…  I can’t give up now… but this time it just feels different…’_       

“Watcha doin?”  Natsu walks up and sits beside her.

“Just… relaxing…”  she smiles at her mate.  “…and thinking about things…”

“Like what?”  he changes positions, sitting behind her instead and wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

“Just stuff…”  gripping his arms and leaning her head against his shoulder, “Natsu… when did you realize you had feelings for me?”

“Hmm… he leans his head against hers, “I never thought about it before…”

“I had a hard time pinpointing it too until you marked me…  I was sure the feelings had started to develop earlier, but the blood told me it was when you dug up the Rainbow tree.”  She smiles at the memory, “I remember seeing that tree floating along the canal and I just knew you had done that for me.  As for when it changed from just like to love…  What I do know for certain is when you left…  it slapped me like a ton of bricks, I was totally in love with you.”

Natsu thinks awhile before responding, “I guess with you I just felt the need from the beginning to protect you and over time, maybe it developed from there but I never really admitted anything to myself.”  Pausing.  “That is until you found me.  As END, I was running solely on primal instincts, not thinking about anything and my instincts told me you were my mate.”  He chuckles, “I had to not be thinking with my head anymore before it finally clicked from my heart.”

“Natsu…”  Lucy turns her body so she can cup his cheeks in her hands, as tears build in her eyes, “If tomorrow goes wrong…  I just want you to know how happy you’ve made me all these years and I have no regrets for doing what I did.  If putting my life in danger saved yours then it’s repaying you for all the years you’ve protected me.”

“Don’t talk like that Luce…”  tears gather in his eyes too.  “I can’t imagine my life without you in it and I swear on my soul I am going to save you!”

“Natsu...”

The tears unleash down his cheeks, “Promise me you’ll fight Luce!  You’re the strongest woman I know and you Can beat this!”

“I…  I promise…”

“Damn right!  My girl’s never been a quitter so don’t you start now…”

 

Lucy in her dream…

‘Where am I?’ _She looks around the empty black expanse, ‘So Strange’  Sitting on a floor made of what she can’t tell, no she does know, it’s… paper.  Her eyes expand, “I’m in the book…”  A sharp piercing sensation tears through her center, she clutches her stomach as it feels like her insides are ripping it apart.  Tears pool and flow down her face in torrents; the pain is almost unbearable._

_“You don’t belong here…” a voice speaks to her._

_Gritting her teeth, she can barely manage a response, “W-who, are, you?”_

_“You know who I am…  and why this is happening…”_

_Through a whisper, “I only wanted to help him!”_

Lucy and Natsu in the same dream…

_Hearing another voice in the din, “Natsu?”_

_“I won’t let you hurt her!”  Lucy looks in the direction of the shouting._

_“Natsu?”  Mustering what little energy she has left, Lucy gets off the ground and starts staggering towards it.  “Natsu!”_

_“Lucy?  What are you doing in here?!”_

_As soon as Lucy can see who Natsu is yelling at she stops dead in her tracks.  “Zeref!” her eyes expand, “That’s who you have to fight?!”_

_“He’s not the real Zeref, just like the narrator of the story...”_

_“Natsu…”  Lucy collapses to the ground on her hands and knees coughing out blood, “I’m s-sorry Natsu…”_

_“Lucy!”  he rushes over and cradles her in his arms._

_The strange Zeref look-alike smiles, “I told you, there are consequences for what she did to save you…”_

_Lucy’s body slumps in his arms, “No Lucy stay with me!  Please Lucy!”_

“…Please Lucy!”  Natsu wakes up in a panic and shoots to a sitting position in bed.  “Fuck, not again!”  Next to him, he sees his mate struggling for air.  “Lucy wake up!”  he shakes her hard. 

“ _Natsu…I…”  her eyes close as her breathing gets shallower…_

“Oh no not yet!”  Shaking her harder this time, “Lucy!!”

“Natsu…” her eyes slowly open as he’s wiping the blood off her chin.

“Lucy!”  He pulls her to his chest.

“Natsu, I’m… sorry…” she falls into a deep coma. 

“No!”  Sprouting wings, Natsu hold Lucy tight in his arms and races towards Fairyhills to find Wendy and Levy. 

 

It’s barely 3 o’clock in the morning as Wendy assess Lucy’s condition, the blonde is still alive but barely and it’s only a matter of time before her body gives out.  “I think the book is fighting with her right now, that’s part of what the dreams have been telling her.”  The two girls quickly follow him back to the cottage with Happy and Charles’ help.  

Levy instructs Natsu to place Lucy on the bed where Wendy can continue to monitor her vital signs.  They had planned to do this later in the morning but with these turn of events, they have no choice but to begin already.  Levy quickly gathers what she needs and sets up for the spell as Natsu rests adjacent to Lucy’s left side whispering and murmuring, begging her to just hold on; he’s coming for her. 

“Are you ready for this Natsu?”  Levy asks the pale young man.

He shakes his head, “But it doesn’t matter if I’m not, I have to save her.”

“Remember, we don’t know what you’ll encounter or what you’ll have to do to fight this…  Somehow, you need to take control of your own story.”

“Understood.”

“Lie down on your back now, close your eyes, and hands at your sides…”  Levy places the E.N.D. book on Natsu’s chest and begins her incantation.  “Through space and time, into a world built from deviltry and evil alchemy, I send you to a plane of parallel void…  Into this story,” she places one hand along with his left on the cover, “your story Etherious Natsu Dragneel!”  Runes appear over Natsu and Levy takes a step back.  “Go forth in your transcendent projection…” she moves to the other side of the bed to reach over and place Lucy’s left hand into Natsu’s right, “thine consortium characters incarnate to this artifact and take back control!”  Natsu’s body seizes into a rigid posture as his lungs gasp deeply like it’s the last bit of air he’ll ever breathe in; lasting for only a minute before it relaxes again into a form of suspended animation.  “Only to return upon full command and domination of this book or as a failsafe…” Levy hesitates, “…if Etherious Natsu Dragneel’s life is close to death shall I, invoker of this spell force the return of his soul back to this corporeal body.” 

Letting out a heavy sigh, Levy plops down on a chair next to the bed.  “It’s in your hands guys…” she murmurs.

“Do you think… He’ll save her?”  Wendy asks with hesitation in her voice.

“We’ve never seen Natsu give up or fail before…  So, I have faith in him, in them…  All we can do now is sit back and, pray.”

 

While the two girls settle in for their vigil, the two exceeds leave and inform Makarov of the situation who in turn, contacts Anna, Porlyusica, and a few others.  Many at the guild want to go to the cottage to help but they are told to stay away.  Gray, Erza, and Gajeel are allowed into to the cottage but must stay out of the bedroom, and Mira brings food and drinks down so that Levy and Wendy can keep up their strength.  Makarov, Anna, and Porlyusica join the two girls in the bedroom where Porlyusica helps Wendy in monitoring the young couple’s vitals and Anna does what she can to help Levy read Natsu’s body language for signals of what is going on.

In the book’s parallel dimension…

_‘Where am I?’ She looks around the empty black expanse, sitting on a floor made of paper.  Her eyes expand, “I’m in the book…”  Looking closer, the lines that she thought were just designs on this strange floor are words, ‘These are the pages of the book!’  But she soon realizes the ‘words’ are shifting, moving, ‘if I’m a part of this tale…’  she presses her palms against the surface and concentrates, ‘Show me…’  Lucy begins to read…  ‘Natsu Dragneel, reborn in the year X389 as Etherious Natsu Dragneel……  Tampering with this story will evoke the sentinel…’   ‘Sentinel?’   ‘…designed to protect END from outside corruption..…  The only way to turn off this utility function is to…’   A sharp piercing sensation tears through her center, she clutches her stomach as it feels like her insides are ripping apart.  Tears pool and flow down her face, the pain is almost unbearable but she presses forward.  ‘…re-write its code…’_

_But before she can read more, electric shocks surge from the floor into her hands and arms throwing her back._

_“You don’t belong here…”  a voice speaks to her._

_Gritting her teeth, she can barely manage a response, “W-who, are, you?”_

_“You know who I am…  and why this is happening…_

_Through a whisper, “But I only wanted to help him!”_

_Hearing another voice in the din, “Natsu?”_

_“I won’t let you hurt her!”  Lucy looks in the direction of the shouting._

_“Natsu?”  Mustering what little energy she has left, Lucy gets off the ground and starts staggering towards it.  “Natsu!”_

_“Lucy?  What are you doing in here?!”_

_“I don’t know…”  As soon as Lucy can see who Natsu is yelling at she stops dead in her tracks.  “Zeref!” her eyes expand, “That’s who you have to fight?!”_

_“He’s not the real Zeref, just the...”_

_Lucy collapses to the ground on her hands and knees coughing out blood, “I’m s-sorry Natsu…”_

_“Lucy!”  he rushes over and cradles her in his arms._

_The strange Zeref look-alike smiles, “I told you, there are consequences for what she did to save you…”_

_Lucy’s body slumps in his arms, “No Lucy stay with me!  Please Lucy!”_

_“Natsu…I…”  her eyes close as her breathing gets shallower…_

_Laughter fills the air, “It was not her place to mess with this book!  So, now this is her punishment.”_

_Natsu growls, “She saved me… And this is my book so I make the rules on who can touch and be a part of My story!”_

_“You’re book!”  Zeref’s clone laughs, “You are nothing more than a creation, just like I am.  But here, I am in control.”  Narrowing his eyes, “Even you can’t do anything about it.”_

_“Tch, that’s where you’re wrong.” Natsu places Lucy on the ground and stands up.  “I’ll find a way to stop you!”  and turns on his END side._

_“Such a fool,” the Zeref clone sneers, “I am a part of this book as much as you are.  If you hurt me, you’ll hurt yourself, and the same goes for me.  So just give up, because anything you try will be futile."_

_Panic sets in for the young man, ‘Crap!  I didn’t think about that…  Inflicting damage will just impair me too…’   “Damn it!”  He paces for second, “If I have to destroy myself to try and save her then that’s what I’m gonna do!_

_“Are you crazy!?  You are going to kill us over her?!”_

_“I can’t live without my mate…”  Natsu grits his teeth, “I’d rather see her live on with my child that she’s carrying than die here because of me.  Zeref, prepare to perish by my hand for the second time!”_

_As Natsu stands off against the Zeref clone, Lucy is going in and out of consciousness.  She can hear her mate arguing with the sentinel, ‘child?!’  she places her hand over her stomach.  ‘he’s going to sacrifice himself for me!’  With the last of her strength fading fast, Lucy turns over to her side, placing her palm on the floor once more, she tries and finds the sentinel code again.  ‘The sentinel’s appearance is modelled after the books author, designed to protect END from outside corruption, its sole purpose is to seek and destroy anything that it deems a threat to END’s story and this book…’   ‘So, if I can just…’  she rips the skin of her finger with her canines and writes directly onto the paper floor with her blood, adding to the code, ‘…except Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfillia Dragneel…’  An aura of light gathers around her body.  Looking over, she can see the same happening to Natsu._

_Staring at his glowing hands, “Lucy?” he turns and sees his mate smiling, “Lucy what did you do?!”_

_“No!  S-she changed the code!”  the Zeref look alike utters before fading away._

_Rushing to her side, Natsu bundles her into his arms.  “Lucy, why?!!”_

_She reaches out and tries to caress his cheek but her hand falls back lacking the strength to do more.  As a tear trickles down, “I stopped him… so you couldn’t die for me…”_

_“No, no, no!  You can’t do this Lucy, you need to stay with me!”_

_“I would have loved to bear your child Natsu…”  her eyes close…_

_“Lucy!!!”_

 

“Lucy!!!”  Natsu shoots up in the bed, turning immediately to his mate.  Seeing Wendy and Porlyusica working to save her life, “Can you save her?!!”  the panic in his voice is unmistakable. 

“We don’t know…” Wendy answers.  “She’s slipping away…”

“Levy,” he grabs the young woman who is also beside herself.  “I need your help, I think I know how to save her.”

“How, Natsu, she’s lost too much magic…”

“I need to find her in the book a-and write that she lives.”

“What are you talking about, if you change the book..."

“She did something in there, somehow stopped the, whatever the hell it was, from attacking us.  I feel like she gave me control over the book but at the cost of her life.  Please Levy!  I don’t know how to write these enchantment things but I know it’ll work!”

“A-Alright, if we can find the right spot in the book…”

Natsu grabs it and starts flipping pages, “It’s gotta be towards the end since this just happened…  Wholly shit, here it is…”  Levy reads aloud where Natsu is pointing…

“Lucy reads the words she can see floating on the paper floor… _’Tampering with this story will evoke the sentinel, designed to protect END from outside corruption…  The only way to turn off this utility function is to…’_   A sharp piercing sensation tears through her center and she clutches her stomach as it feels like her insides are ripping apart.  The pain is almost unbearable but she presses forward.  _‘…re-write its code…’_   But before she can read further, electric shocks surge from the floor into her hands and arms throwing her back, the book is fighting.…  She makes her way over to Natsu and collapses…..  As Natsu stands off against the sentinel, Lucy is going in and out of consciousness.  She can hear her mate arguing and finds out she is pregnant and that he plans to sacrifice himself to save her and their child.  With the last of her strength fading fast, Lucy turns over to her side, placing her palm on the floor she tries one more time and finds the sentinel code again _.  ‘The sentinel’s appearance is modelled after the books author, designed to protect END from outside corruption, its sole purpose is to seek and destroy anything that it deems a threat to END’s story and this book…’_ , she rips open the skin of her finger and writes directly onto the paper floor with her blood, adding to the code, _‘…except Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfillia Dragneel…’_   An aura of light gathers around her body, the same happening to Natsu as the Sentinel fades away…  Lucy sacrificed herself to save Natsu…”  Levy is in tears by the time she reads that last part.  “She’s carrying…”

“Yes…” Natsu hangs his head, “I could smell the changes on her since yesterday…  But I never got the chance to tell her.  Do you see why I need to do something?!”

Levy thinks for a second, “Okay I got it, I need ink, your blood and a pen, you’re gonna use the same technique Lucy used to alter your book, and I’ll tell you where and what to write.  So, go grab me the ink and pen while I come up with the right words, it’s on the kitchen counter where I left it.”  Natsu rushes out of the room while Levy works on the code.  In a minute, he’s back.  “Dump out half the bottle and top it back off with your blood.  Make sure to mix it all well; your blood and her blood will seal the changes.”  He does as he’s told with Erza’s help.  Levy hands him a sheet of paper with the roughly drafted words so it’s easier for him to follow, Natsu’s never had the best penmanship to begin with.

After the part of _‘Lucy sacrificed herself to save Natsu…’_   he adds, _‘but all was not lost for her as once the sentinel had been stopped, the energy taken from her was returned through the blood link.  She required a short period of recuperation but will reawaken from her coma within the hour thanks to the help of her friends.’_  Wendy and Porlyusica step back for a moment as Lucy’s body glows again; her breathing is returning to normal.   Natsu drops the pen and takes hold of her hand, “she’s warming back up!”

Laying her hands over the blonde, Wendy is amazed, “and her magic energy is returning!”  she looks at Natsu with a sparkle in her eyes, “Lucy should wake up in a little while!  She’ll probably still need some rest till tomorrow, but she’ll make it!”

“And…” Natsu hesitates, “Is the baby…”

“You know your nose is just astonishing, Natsu, I can barely sense it but yes, the baby will survive as well though you realize it’s only a day or so developed.”

He smiles and sighs, “yeah, but it’s still my baby…”

“I can’t believe the dunce is having a kid,” Gray snickers from the doorway.

Everyone stops breathing for a second, shocked the ice mage could be so flippant at a time like this.  “Yeah popsicle, well my kid is still gonna kick your kid’s ass one day and with any luck he’s gonna have his mom’s smarts!”

“Oi, you calling my kid weak!” he stomps over to Natsu

“Damn straight I am!  Just like his father!”

“Hey!” Levy and Erza shout at the same time.  “Knock it off you two!” Erza grabs them both by the neck.  “Natsu you go tend to Lucy and you,” pushing Gray out the door, “You can fight over this later.”

 

Lucy stays asleep until the next morning, Natsu never leaving her side. 

_Lucy’s dream…_

_“I’ve waited so long for this…” she whispers through the kisses.  “To finally have you…”_

_“We’ll be together forever…” suckling her neck_

_She closes her eyes and moans as his teeth puncture her skin “Forever…” as a haze of red forms over her vision…  Murmuring, “A bond…  through our blood…”_

_“Yes… My love…” he breathes against her skin._

_As a strange tingling sensation flows through her system, Lucy’s mind suddenly clears and she’s taken back to the moment her heart had chosen him…  The Rainbow Sakura (Cherry Blossom) tree.  ‘Had it really been way back then?’  She wonders, but her heart couldn’t be lying about such a thing._

_He laps up the few trickles of blood that have escaped from the punctures, as a three, small horizontal squiggly lines appear over their hearts.  “How you feeling, Luce?”_

_“Warm…”  The air permeating the bedroom heats up as she pulls him in for a passion laced kiss and her body begins to glow a reddish hue.  “Complete…  the ritual Natsu…” Lucy contorts her hips against his pelvis beckoning for him to enter her and seal their union…._

“Mmmm…”  Lucy grins through her lascivious dream, or rather memory of her marking.  Stretching her arms and rolling partially onto her mate like any normal morning, this action wakes Natsu up.  He checks but seeing that she’s fine, smiling away in her sleep, so he kisses her forehead and closes his eyes again.  _‘Must be a good dream…’_   He smiles too, ecstatic his mate is no longer having the nightmares. 

    

Later in the afternoon, Wendy and Levy drop by to check on her; all signs show she is 100 percent back to normal so Wendy gives her the all clear.  She is still tied to the book but at least now there is no fear of being attacked by it.  But just to be sure, Makarov has sealed the book away in the most secure vault of Fairytail because if anyone bent on hurting Natsu or Lucy were to ever get their hands on it, they would simply need to destroy the book to do so.  Gajeel, Gray, and Erza join the group and in the living room, recount for her how Natsu brought her back to life.  “Luce you shouldn’t have tried to save me like that, you are so much more precious…”

“You were about to do the same for me Natsu…  and after everything you’ve been through in your life, you deserved to live.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to survive without you…” he wraps his arms tight around her, “so don’t you ever do anything like that again!” 

“Sorry babe, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat because that’s how much I love you! 

“Argh, Luce you are so stubborn!”

She laughs, “Says the master of being stubborn…  I must have inherited it though the bond!”

Gajeel snorts, “She’s got you there, Salamander!”  Everyone in the room laughs, even the young couple.

Lucy sighs, “Even after all of this… the one thing I’m still in shock over is being pregnant, I hadn’t planned to be so, soon.”

“Well, didn’t pinky warn you that during the marking ritual is when dragon mates will conceive the first born?”

“No…”  Lucy side-eyes her now fidgeting mate, “…he failed to mention that.”

“Hey!”  he puts his hands up in defense, “Igneel never explained that to me so how was I supposed to know?”

“I wonder what you’re gonna have…”  Levy chimes in to lighten the mood.

They both answer at the same time.  Lucy, “I’m hoping for a boy…”   Natsu, “I’m hoping for a girl…”

Gray snickers, “Maybe you’ll end up with twins.”

“Bite your tongue!  Ice Princess!”  Lucy snaps, “being pregnant is tough enough but twins; one at a time is what I’m praying for. 

“So, you want more than one?”  Natsu teases

“Eventually… two or three would be nice.”

“I think you’re gonna have a girl…”  Wendy whispers.

“Why do you think that?”

“Hormone levels are slightly different, depending on the sex of the child…  And what I smell leads me to believe the baby will be female.”  Natsu nods in agreement to his wife’s slight dismay.

“In the end, it doesn’t matter, as long as the baby is healthy…” Lucy sighs.  “Besides, it will be the product of our new bond,” she smiles again, “making him or her very special.”

Natsu kisses Lucy’s cheek, “I already know the perfect name if it’s a girl.”

“Oh yeah?” she replies.  “And what would that be?”

“Since she’ll be a part of the both of us, her name should reflect that, so I think Nashi would be perfect.”   

The three other girls in the room all sigh, “Adorable!  We love it!”


End file.
